Open mesh warp knitted fabric



April 9, 1963 w. H. scHElBE 3,084,529

OPEN MESH WARP KNITTED FABRIC Filed Jan. 30, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 la 21b f ,c

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OPEN MESH WARP KNITTED FABRIC Filed Jan. 30, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR:

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OPEN MESH WARP KNITTED FABRIC Filed Jan. 30, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 4llllllll INVENTOR By MMM Afan/f April 9, 1963 w. H. scHElBE 3,084,529

OPEN MESH WARP KNITTED FABRIC Filed Jan. 30, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 5MINIMUM FIGB.

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OPEN MESI-I WARP KNITTED FABRIC Filed Jan. 30, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6INVENTOR:

Acum/7 hig Patented Apr'. 9, 1963i 3,084,529 @PEN li/iiriiil WAR??KNTTED FABRE@ Walter Hugo Scheib-e, hcrnrsei, rEaunus, Germany Elliottdan. 39, 1959, Ser. No. '79@,228 Ciaiins priori@ application GermanyFel). 6, 1958 3 Claims. (l. titi-193) The present invention relates toknitted fabrics of the type known as filet, tulle, raschel, etc., whichmay be used as curtains, laces and for many other 1purposes. Theinvention also relates to improved warp knitting machines for themanufacture of such fabrics.

The novel fabric belongs basically to the group of knit goods comprisinga foundation formed by warp chain threads which iare interconneted bycrossor weft threads Ito form a number of squares, certain squares beingfilled in by design forming or dai-ning threads which run cross-Wise ofthe fabric and form a large number of different patterns in the basicdesign.

When such fabrics are formed on known knitting machines, for example onthose known as raschei machines, it is considered as necessary that thedarning or design forming threads be connected to warp chain threads atboth sides of a square which is filled in to constitute part or" acertain pattern. rfhis greatly reduces the number and attractiveness ofpossible fabric patterns and, in addition, the desirablethree-dimensional effect cannot be attained in such types of fabrics.

Also, a satisfactory patterning without disturbing cross threads wasconsidered possible only in the manufacture of open mesh fabrics knownas bobbinet lace. The disadvantage of such fabrics is in that themachinery for their manufacture operates at comparatively low speedsand, consequently, the product is a rather expensive one. in addition,it was held that the Sculptured effect which is produced by connectingthe cross threads only to certain warp chain threads of the basicpattern was possible only in the bobbinet lace. All simpler and cheapertypes of filet goods, tulle and similar knitted fabrics weremanufactured with patterns lacking such Sculptured effect.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedWarp knitting machine and a novel open mesh fabric manufactured in sucha machine, the fabric being characterized in that .the squares formed byits foundation are lled in with crossor weft threads to form a greatvariety of patterns which may produce a three-dimensional effect, ifdesired.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved warp knittingmachine which is so combined with a Jacquard mechanism that it mayproduce filet lace and like fabrics with a great variety of designs suchas were heretofore possible only by the use of apparatus for themanufacture of bobbinet lace.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a novelattachment for a Jacquard mechanism which enables the warp knittingmachine to operate at speeds presently attainable only with certainisolated types of high-speed knitting machinery.

The above and certain other objects of the invention are attained by theprovision of a knitting machine certain eye-needles of which arecontrolled by a Jacquard mechanism preferably combined with a novelattachment capable of bringing about controlled delays in the movementsof the hook from either or both of its dead center positions. The novelattachment enables the hook to remain in its dead center position orpositions for controlled periods of time. Due to the provision of suchattachment, the machine may operate at very high speeds and may producepatterns with pleasing Sculptured effects. Undesirable variations in thethickness of warp threads of the finished product may be avoided byselecting relatively thin material for the darning threads and/or byusing warp chain threads of different thicknesses.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is an enlarged, fragmentary diagrammatic View of one form of thenovel fabric;

FIG. 2 is a similar fragmentary View of a different form of fabric;

FIGS. 3 and 3a illustrate portions of a raschel machine for themanufacture of the fabric shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary View of a different raschel machine for themanufacture of the fabric shown in FlG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an improved control and guide mechanismattached to a Jacquard hook;

FIG. 5a is a schematic fragmentary View of a Jacquard hook; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram of two curves, one of which is illustrative of themovements of the hook in prior .lacquards, and the other of whichrepresents the movements of a hook when controlled by the attachmentshown in FG. 5.

The foundation or basic pattern of the texture shown in FIG. l consistsof spacedly juxtaposed warp chain threads la, fb, lc and ld which arewrapped by eyeneedles to be described hereinafter in connection withFiG. 3. The squares 2 in the foundation of the fabric are formed by theaforementioned warp chains lla-lid and by crossor weft threads 3, 3a andil, #la which latter are interlaced with the chain threads whenever theyrun in directions parallel with the latter. Thus, weft thread 3a isinterlaced with chain threads .la and ic, and forms a pair of squares 2,7 at both sides of chain thread lb. Each square extends over fourcourses of warp stitches. Weft thread 4 is interlaced with chain threadsla, id and 1b, and forms squares 7 and 9 at both sides of the chainthread lc. Each of chain threads itz-ld also intermeshes with a darningor design forming thread, there being shown in FIG. l a darning thread 5for chain thread lb and a darning thread 6 for the chain thread lc.Thread 5 is interlaced with chain thread lb above the upper cross runsof weft threads 3, 4 and thereupon iills the square 7 by running backand forth in crosswise direction to be thereupon again interlaced withthread 1b beneath the lower transverse runs of weft threads 3 and 4. Theother darning thread 6 is interlaced with chain thread 1c, thereuponfills the squares 9 and 8, and is again interlaced with the chain threadlc below the square `8. For the sake of clarity and simplicity ofillustration, only the two median chain threads lb, lc are shown withdarning threads 5, 6, respectively, but it will be readily understoodthat the outer chain threads la, 1d, too, may be interlaced withadditional dai-ning threads which latter then till in certain othersquares in the foundation of the fabric to produce a desired design.

The eye-needle which wraps darning threads 5 and 6 is actuated by aacquard mechanism. Depending upon the design or pattern of the fabricshown in FIG. l, squares at only one or both sides of a chain thread maybe filled in with darning threads. Thus, darning thread 5 lls in thesquare 7 at one side but leaves empty the squares at lthe other side ofits chain thread tb. On the other hand, darning thread 6 alternatelyfills in a square 9 at one side and a square S at the other side of itschain thread ic. For so wrapping the darning threads, the eyeneedles ofthe knitting machine are moved laterally by the hooks of the Jacquardmechanism. In the manufacture of the fabric shown in FG. l, the hookswhich control the eye-needles of darning thread 5 are actuated only atthe second and fourth mesh so as to till in the square 7 at one side ofchain thread lb. On the other hand, the hooks which control theeye-needles of thread 5 are actuated at the second, fourth, seventh,ninth, etc. mesh whereby the square 8 and 9' are filled in at theopposing sides of chain thread 1c.

accesso The raschel machine for the manufacture of the fabric patternshown in FIG. l is illustrated in FiG. 3. lt comprises an eye-needle itlwhich wraps the chain threads itz-ld, and the eye-needles ll, l?. forcross threads 3, 4, respectively, these threads forming the foundationof the fabric. The lower end i3 of additional eye-needle ld is movedlaterally by the hook 15 which ylatter is controlled by a Jacquardmechanism. The construction of hook 15 is such that it can bring aboutlateral displacements of the lower end 13 in two opposing directions,i.e. the hook may reciprocate in two opposing directions.

In the fabric which is shown in FlG. 2, the foundation consists ofalternately arranged warp chain threads l7a- 17e and 16a-loc. Chainthreads l7al7c and 16a-16C are wrapped by independent eye-needles. Thesquares in the foundation or basic pattern are formed by aforementionedchain threads 16a-loc, 17a-17C and by crossor weft threads 18, 19 whichlatter are laid by eyeneedles to be described in greater detail inconnection with FlG. 4. Only the chain threads 16a-16C are interlacedwith darning or design forming threads, such as thread 20 for chainthread 16a, thread 2l for chain thread 16h, and a non-represented threadfor the chain thread 16e. Thus, when the darning threads Ztl, 2l, etc.are led in crosswise directions, they merely pass over the alternatechain threads l7a-l'7c without being connected thereto. In this manner,each darning thread lls in two squares of the foundation which producesin the finished fabric a highly desirable plastic effect. Thread 20fills in the squares 22a, 22b and 22a', 22b' between chain threads 16a,lob, while the other darning thread 2l iills in a pair of squares 23a,23b between chain threads lab, 16e and thereupon a pair of squares 23a',231; at the opposing side of its chain thread leb. Thus, it will be seenthat a chain thread 2d may fill in certain squares (22a, 2.219, and22a', 22b) only at one side of its associated chain thread 16a, or thata darning thread 2l may fill .in squares (23a, 23h and 23a', 23b) at theopposing sides of its chain thread (16h).

It will be readily understood that the threads 2t), 2l may be ledcrosswise relative to chain threads 16a, 16h, respectively, in suchmanner as to pass over more than a single intermediate chain thread,i.e. in such manner as to ll in three or more squares at one or bothsides of their respective chain threads. For example, the design formingthread 20 could be led over chain threads 17h, 16h, and 17C to beinterlaced with chain thread loc, if a different type of pattern isdesired. Between each pair of consecutively illed-in squares (eg. 22a,22a in FIG. 2), the design forming threads Ztl are always interlacedwith the respective chain threads 16a. This causes slight increases inthe thickness of t le chain thread which, however, can be corrected bysuitable selection or" the thread thicknesses, i.e. of the thicknessesof darning threads 20, 2l and of chain threads 16a-loc, or compensatedfor by increasing the thicknesses of intermediate chain threads l7a-17c.In this manner, the presence of darning threads in the chain threadsbetween the iilledin squares of the foundation need not be noticed, i.e.the thickness of composite chain threads is only slightly increased.

Theraschel machine for the manufacture of the fabric shown in FIG. 2 isrepresented in FIG. 4. The machine comprises two eye-needles 24, 25 forwarp chain threads 16a-16a` and 17a-17C, respectively. The weft threads18, 19 are laid by eye-needles 26, 27, respectively. The design formingor darning threads 20, 2l are laid by the lower end 28 of a furthereye-needle, the part 28 being controlled by the hook 29 of a Jacquardmechanism in a manner depending upon the desired design in the fabricpattern, i.e. the part 28 is selectively moved in the one or the otherlateral direction by the hook 29. The direc- -tion in which the endmember 28 is moved by hook 29 is the same as the direction in which thedarning threads 20, 21 are led crosswise with respect to chain threads16a, 16b, respectively. It can be said that, in addition to theeye-needles for threads which constitute the foundation of the fabric,there is provided at least one Jacquard-controlled eye-needle for thedesign forming threads. By the provision of a Jacquard to control atleast one eye-needle, and by the provision of a special attachment forthe Jacquard mechanism, the knitting machine of FIG. 3 or 4 is capableof operating at speeds considerably higher than those at which the knownmachines for the manufacture of bobbinet lace operate.

Eye-needles 24, 25 operate independently of each other to wrapalternating chains 17a, 16a, l'7b, lob, etc. Thus, the operation of themachine shown in FIG. 4 is such that the chain threads 17a-17C arewrapped by eyeneedle 25 between the chain threads leal6c which latterare wrapped by eye-needle 24.

If the eyeneedle which wraps the design forming threads 5, 6 or 20, 2lwere actuated by a conventional Jacquard mechanism, the raschel machineof FIG. 3 or 4, could operate only at relatively low speeds because ofrelatively long periods of time required for filling in certain squaresof the foundation. Accordingly, such a machine would constitute noimprovement over the known apparatus for the manufacture of bobbinetl-ace. To speed up the operation of raschel machines shown in FIGS. 3and 4, there is provided a novel attachment for the Jacquard mechanismwhich is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 5. The purpose of thisattachment is to guide the hook in such manner that the latter performsa longer-lasting movement in its upper and/or lower dead centerposition. This enables the raschel machine to operate at speeds such asare attainable only with latest models of high-speed knitting machines.

Referring now in greater detail to FIG. 5, there is shown a hook orJacquard ram 30 which, at its upper end, carries `a pivot axle 3lconnected with a crossbar 32 which latter is formed as a two-armedlever. The ends of crossbar 32 are connected to lower ends of respectivedriven control levers 35, 39. A Jacquard shaft 33 carries an eccentricelement 34 which is received in the eye at the upper end of lever 35,shaft 33 also carrying a small gear 40 which meshes with a second gear40a mounted on a shaft 37. Due to the eccentricity 36 of eccentric 34the lever 35 performs a crank motion. Lever 39 receives a similar motionfrom shaft 37 over a second eccentric element 33 whose eccentricity isindicated by reference numeral 36a. The gear drive 40, 40a operativelyconnects shaft 37 with Jacquard shaft 33. In this manner, the cross-bar32 constitutes a component part of two coupled four-joint larticulateconnections whose cranks 3S, 39, respectively, Iare controlled in motionby eccentricities 36, 36a, respectively.

Depending upon the transmission ratio of gear drive 40, 40a and alsoupon the position of eccentric elements 34, 38 with respect to eachother, a longer or shorter dead-center motion of hook 39 may be broughtabout by the just described assembly. Alternately, it will be readilyunderstood that a suitable change in the position of eccentric elements34, 38 with respect to each other and/or in the transmission ratio ofgear drive 40, 40a will bring about a longer-lasting movement of hookSil in only one of its dead center positions, i.e. either in its upperor in its lower dead center.

The curve 41 in FIG. 6 illustrates the movements of a hook inconventional Jacquard mechanisms. The broken-line curve 42, on the otherhand, illustrates the path of the hook guided by the device shown inFIG. 5. It will be noted that the broken-line curve has a at portioncorresponding to movements of hook 36` in its upper dead centerposition.

My invention is, of course, not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed and illustrated lbut may be realized in various modificationsand adaptations without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1; An open mesh warp knitted fabric comprising a foundation consistingof warp chain threads and weft threads, each warp chain threadconstituting an elongated chain of warp stitches, said chains beingspacedly juxtaposed, and the stitches thereof being arranged in weftwisecourses, said weft threads being spaced from each other and deiining aplurality of openings therebetween, each opening extending warpwise overa plurality of said courses; and a design forming thread interlaced witha pair of chain threads separated by at least one intermediate chainthread, said design forming threads extending weftwise to `till in theopenings between said pair of chain threads and passing over saidintermediate chain thread without being interlaced therewith.

2. A fabric as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pair of chain threadsis separated by la single intermediate 15 chain thread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,050,120 Friedberger Jan. 14, 1913 1,715,482 Vorck June 4, 19292,130,236 Holtz Sept. 13, 1938 2,200,280 Klumpp et al May 14, 19402,236,994 Deri et al. Apr. 1, 1941 2,531,718 Rice Nov. 28, 19502,652,705 Weinberg Sept. 22, 1953 2,706,898 Gross et al. Apr. 26, 19552,802,355 Clark et al. Aug. 13, 1957

1. AN OPEN MESH WARP KNITTED FABRIC COMPRISING A FOUNDATION CONSISTINGOF WARP CHAIN THREADS AND WEFT THREADS, EACH WARP CHAIN THREADCONSTITUTING AN ELONGATED CHAIN OF WARP STITCHES, THEREOF BEING ARRANGEDIN WEFTWISE COURSES, SAID WEFT THREADS BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ANDDEFINING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS THEREBETWEEN, EACH OPENING EXTENDINGWARPWISE OVER A PLURALITY OF SAID COURSES; AND A DESIGN FORMING THREADINTERLACED WITH A PAIR OF CHAIN THREADS SEPARATED BY AT LEAST ONEINTERMEDIATE CHAIN THREAD, SAID DESIGN FORMING THREADS EXTENDINGWEFTWISE TO FILL IN THE OPENINGS BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF CHAIN THREADS ANDPASSING OVER SAID INTERMEDIATE CHAIN THREAD WITHOUT BEING INTERLACEDTHEREWITH.